Bridge Project is dedicated to exposing the conservative movement’s dishonest tactics, dismantling its extreme ideology, and shining light on the moneyed special interests that fund it.

Issues: Income Inequality

American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates released the following statement after Donald Trump tweeted about news that, under Mick Mulvaney, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was considering allowing Wells Fargo to avoid refunding consumers that the bank has already admitted were overcharged:

“A disingenuous tweet cannot hide the obvious truth of Donald Trump’s record. His actions are selling-out the American middle class by tying the hands of the independent agency created after 2008 to safeguard consumers from the worst abuses of the financial sector. Trump himself said that he was placing Mulvaney at the CFPB specifically to benefit the financial companies that the independent agency was created to be the watchdog of, and numerousreportsshow that’s precisely what Mick Mulvaney is doing. There is an unmistakable pattern here, and the American people won’t be fooled.”

Politicians & Pundits

American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates released the following statement after news broke that Mick Mulvaney may reverse a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau position and allow Wells Fargo to withhold payments to home-buyers who were overcharged:

“What could possibly be the legitimate justification for giving Wells Fargo a pass on paying back customers it has admittedwere overcharged? Donald Trump’s interference with the CFPB threatens to erode key protections created after the 2008 financial crisis that stand between middle class consumers and deceptive financial industry practices. Having the only cop on the beat stand down to help big banks increase profit margins is the exact opposite of ‘draining the swamp.’”

Issues

Politicians & Pundits

American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates issued the following statement after it was reported that Donald Trump may appoint Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to be the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

​”Not one month ago, Donald Trump sided with Wall Street and predatory lenders over our nation’s veterans and middle class families by signing a bill that allows banks and other financial companies to escape full legal accountability after defrauding consumers,” said American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates. “Now Trump may appoint a temporary head of the agency who does not think the agency should even exist. This is yet another example of Donald Trump acting to sell out the Americans he pledged to stand up for. Like his tax efforts, this would further rig the American economy in favor of the wealthy and large corporations.”

Issues

Politicians & Pundits

It’s been one day since the deadly terrorist attack in New York City and President Trump is taunting the home state Senator on Twitter with lies about his record and calling for immigration bans steeped in Islamophobia. As we’ve sadly come to expect from this President, he has shown once again moments that require leadership, unity, and compassion completely evade him.

1. Why is President Trump calling for policy changes right out of the gate after yesterday’s terrorist attack in New York City but insisted it was not time talk about reforms after the terrorist attack in Las Vegas that killed 59 people and injured more than 500 more?

2. Does President Trump support Senator Grassley’s legislation to enforce registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act in the wake of Paul Manafort’s […]

Politicians & Pundits

This afternoon – without press access and behind closed doors – Donald Trump will sign legislation dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule against forced arbitration – a practice used by Wall Street banks, credit card companies, and predatory lenders to deny Americans their full legal rights when they are victims of fraud on the part of those companies.

American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates responded to Trump’s signing of the bill with the following statement:

“Donald Trump is selling-out middle class families, working Americans, and veterans by signing this dangerous legislation – a key Wall Street lobbying priority – which lets banks and credit card companies evade legal accountability after defrauding their customers. And he’s doing it behind closed doors, hoping that no one will notice. Giving large, financial sector companies the ability to deprive American consumers of fundamental legal rights using fine print is the exact opposite of ‘draining the swamp’ – and it’s […]

Politicians & Pundits

American Bridge President Jessica Mackler released the following statement after the Department of Justice announced it would stop defending the Obama Administration’s rule guaranteeing that approximately 4 million Americans would no longer be denied the overtime pay that they earn:

“Donald Trump personally screwed over hundreds of employees by refusing to pay their overtime and now he’s using the Justice Department to slash the paychecks of 4 million hard-working Americans who will not receive the overtime pay ​that ​they earn. This is Trump’s latest action that is at odds with his campaign trail rhetoric, and ​it ​further shows how his economic agenda is solely designed to further rig the American economy for the rich – including Trump himself – at the expense of American workers. The American Dream is moving farther and father out of reach of our country’s workers and Donald Trump is to blame.”

Issues

Politicians & Pundits

The Pope Addresses A GOP-Controlled Congress Opposed To His Progressive Values

This Thursday, all eyes will be on Pope Francis for his historic and much anticipated address to a joint meeting of Congress. But before the pope arrived in the United States, Republicans already started picking fights and attacking the pope’s teachings.

Since the start of his papacy, Pope Francis has signaled a shift in focus for the church towards protecting “the least of these,” whether it’s through the stewardship of our environment or addressing income inequality and providing a livable wage. Republicans’ policy views continue to move further and further to the right, and the pope is finally calling them on it.

On countless issues, the GOP’s policy positions go against the pope’s teaching. Bridge Project’s latest report examines how on the following issues, the GOP’s […]

Issues

Fresh off an electoral battering, Crossroads GPS is picking up the pieces and regrouping with a fresh “issue” ad tarring the president’s opening bid on a deal to avert the upcoming tax increases and spending cuts known collectively as the “fiscal cliff.” The group’s accusations about a “huge tax increase” without accompanying spending reforms fall short, however. President Obama’s initial offering included both revenue increases – $1.6 trillion, to come primarily from an expiration of top-bracket tax rate cuts and limiting deductions – and $600 billion in spending cuts, most of which would come from health care programs.

Issues

Organizations

The American economic pie may have increased in size, but 95 percent of Americans are getting a smaller slice than in the past. This is partly because the top 1 percent of the country has nearly quadrupled the size of its own helping. Their nearly 300 percent increase in take-home pay over that time dwarfs the more modest progress of the rest. Furthermore, while conservatives allege that progressives seek equal outcomes for all, at the cost of American economic freedom, the fact is our storied “equality of opportunity” is overstated. Economic mobility is scarce in the U.S. compared to other advanced economies, and most born into wealth or poverty stay more or less where they started.

Earnings Have Exploded For The Top 1 Percent, While Everyone Else Has Seen Much More Modest Growth

Economic Boom Following World War II Saw Income Gains “Distributed Rapidly Across Income Classes.” From the Economic Policy Institute’s State of Working America: “Between 1947 and 1973, economic growth was both rapid and distributed equally across income classes. The poorest 20% of families saw growth at least as fast as the richest 20% of families, and everybody in between experienced similar rates of income growth. Since then, growth in average living standards has unambiguously slowed. Between 1973 and 1995, growth in productivity, or how much income can be generated in each hour of work, collapsed to less than half the rate that characterized the previous quarter century.” [The State Of Working America, accessed 3/7/12]